In the #1 Bestselling SOMETHING STARTLING HAPPENS: THE 120 STORY BEATS EVERY WRITER NEEDS TO KNOW, author and screenwriter, Todd Klick, explores the universal minute-by-minute beats that unite all great stories.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Lion King Hits Every Universal Story Beat!

Whether it's a time-honored film like Casablanca (see last post), a horror classic like John Carpenter's Halloween, or the hugely popular re-released Disney feature Lion King, all three stories share the same universal minute-by-minute beats. All successful movies do!:

*NOTE: The story begins after the big musical opening

MINUTE 1: ATTENSION!
Scar’s foot stomps on a tiny mouse MINUTE 2: THE BUILD
Scar warns Mufasa that he better not turn his back on him MINUTE 3: THE RATCHET
Scar warns Mufasa that he (Scar) has the brainsMINUTE 4: ANOTHER NOTCH
Simba wakes his sleeping fatherMINUTE 5: JAW DROPPER
Mufasa shows Simba the jaw dropping sunrise and the vast kingdom he will inheritMINUTE 6: FRIEND OR FIST
Mufasa tells Simba about the cycle of life (FRIEND)MINUTE 7: FRIEND OR FIST 2
Mufasa shows SImba how to hunt (FRIEND)MINUTE 8: SOMETHING STARTLING HAPPENS
Zazu screams “Sire! Hyenas in the Pridelands!”MINUTE 9: THE PURSUIT
Simba wants to go to the elephant graveyardMINUTE 10: THE DISCUSSION
Simba and Nala discuss going to a “great place” with their mothersMINUTE 11: THE WARNING
Simba shushes Nala, warning her not to talk so loudlyMINUTE 12: HARSHER WARNING
Simba (warning Zazu): I’m gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware!” MINUTE 13: THE SUBMISSION
Zazu says, “If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out”MINUTE 14: DANGER WATCH
Large animals fall towards little ZazuMINUTE 15: WHEW, THAT WAS CLOSE!
Zazu thwarts Simba’s attempt to check out the elephant grave (Whew, that was close!) MINUTE 16: THE BIG CONCERN
Simba, Zazu and Nala see hyenas approaching!MINUTE 17: WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
Hyenas threaten to eat themMINUTE 18: TROUBLE TURN
Hyenas corner Simba and NalaMINUTE 19: THE THREAT
Scar watches in the shadows (a threat to Simba’s future safety)MINUTE 20: PUSH BACK
Mufasa scolds SimbaMINUTE 21: THE GREAT AFFECT
Simba and Mufasa bond as father and sonMINUTE 22: TRUTH DECLARED
Mufasa: “Whenever you feel alone, those kings will be there to guide you, and so will I”MINUTE 23: SCARY STUFF
Scar shows up in the caveMINUTE 24: SCARY STUFF 2
Scar wants the hyenas to kill MufasaMINUTE 25: SCARY STUFF 3
Scar says they will kill Mufasa, and Simba tooMINUTE 26: THE BIG UNEXPECTED
An army of hyenas line up to help ScarMINUTE 27: THE MINI-QUEST
Scar leads Simba to a rock under a treeMINUTE 28: BIG QUEST PREP
Scar asks Simba to stay on the rock (so hyenas can kill him)MINUTE 29: BIG QUEST PREP 2
Hyenas wait until Scar gives them the signalMINUTE 30: THE NEED
Simba needs to escapes the stampeding wildebeestsMINUTE 31: DISTRESS SIGNAL
Distressed Mufasa sees Simba slipping from the tree branchMINUTE 32: ANXIETY AMP
Simba sees his father fall into the stampede!MINUTE 33: OMINOUS OH NO!
Simba finds his dead father (Oh no!)MINUTE 34: FRIEND AFFECT
Simba cries over his father’s lifeless bodyMINUTE 35: BAIT & SWITCH
Scar tells Simba to run away, but then he tells the hyenas to kill himMINUTE 36: HIDE & SEEK
Simba hides from the hyenas while they seek to kill himMINUTE 37: OVER HIS HEAD
The lionesses cry over Simba’s deathMINUTE 38: POSITIVE RECONNECT
Pumbaa and Timon find a barely-alive SimbaMINUTE 39: NEW JOURNEY BOND
Pumbaa and Timon carry Simba to safetyMINUTE 40: ALLY’S WORLD
We find out Pumbaa and Timon are “outcasts”MINUTE 41: THORNY ROSE
Pumbaa and Timon teach Simba the positive phrase “Hakuna Matata” (the rose), but he’s still without a father and a kingdom (the thorn)MINUTE 42: SURPRISE REVEAL
Pumbaa’s surprise fart scares away all the animals MINUTE 43: SURPRISE REVEAL 2
The leaves part, revealing the surprisingly beautiful place where Pumbaa and Timon liveMINUTE 44: NEW NEWS
Timon tells Simba: “If you live with us, you have to eat like us”MINUTE 45: OUT OF THE ORDINARY
Simba eats a grubMINUTE 46: THE REVELATION
Scar holds Zazu captiveMINUTE 47: THE ESCORT
The hyenas escort Shenzi to ScarMINUTE 48: NEEDED KNOWLEDGE
Pumbaa reminds Simba about the stars (which Simba needs to know to remember what his father said to him)MINUTE 49: FOREBODING FACT
Sad Simba remembers what his father told him about the stars

MINUTE 50: THE PORTENT
Simba collapses at the cliff’s edge, deeply saddenedMINUTE 51: THE ENGAGE
A lion charges after PumbaaMINUTE 52: SAY UNCLE
Pumbaa gets stuck in the tree roots MINUTE 53: THE INTIMIDATION
The lion pins Simba onto his back MINUTE 54: THE LIGHTBULB
Simba learns that everyone thinks he’s dead MINUTE 55: SIDESWIPE
Nala can’t believe that Simba is alive MINUTE 56: DARK TWIST CHAT
Timon says Simba and Nala will fall in love (+), but their trio will now be down to two (-) MINUTE 57: DIFFICULT WORDS
Simba sings: “So many things to tell her, but how to make her see?” MINUTE 58: VITAL EVENT
Simba and Nala fall in love MINUTE 59: THE DECEPTION
Simba lies to Nala and said he disappeared because he wanted to live on his own MINUTE 60: THE SHOCKER
Simba and Nala have a big fight

About Me

Writer and producer, Todd Klick, is the #1 bestselling author of Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs to Know and The Screenwriter's Fairy Tale. Todd's stories earned accolades with the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship and the PAGE International screenwriting competitions. In addition to optioning 5 scripts, he recently sold a full-length screenplay and inked two deals to develop stories for the London and Broadway stages with music mogul, Guy Holmes (Cirque Du Soleil/Beatles' LOVE) and Motown songwriting legend Lamont Dozier, as well as Maurice White's Kalimba Productions (founder of Earth, Wind and Fire). Todd is a frequent speaker and guest panelist at screenwriting symposiums, contributor to The Huffington Post and MovieMaker Magazine, and has also appeared on Dateline NBC and NPR to promote his work. www.toddklick.com